The Houston Texans had not scored in the second half and had punted five times in a row on Sunday when they got one last chance to avoid losing to the Jacksonville Jaguars. C.J. Stroud found an unexpected target to ensure the Texans won.
Stroud threw for 345 yards and two touchdowns, finishing with a 1-yard pass to third-string running back Dare Ogunbowale with just 18 seconds left, giving the Texans a 24-20 win.
With starting running back Joe Mixon and backup Dameon Pierce both injured, Ogunbowale scored a touchdown for the first time since 2022. “It’s obviously always good to get a win, but when you can help your team win it’s special,” he said.
The Houston defense forced a quick three-and-out to get the ball back with less than three minutes remaining.
Stroud then led a nine-play, 69-yard drive to give the Texans (3-1) their first points of the second half and escape a scare from the winless Jaguars (0-4). “We were just locked in,” Stroud said. “Defense gave us another shot, and that’s all we needed.”
The Texans bounced back from a heavy 34-7 loss at Minnesota to secure the victory, even after fumbling a punt return early and committing 12 penalties, totaling 35 in their last three games.
Nico Collins played a key role in the win with a career-high 12 receptions for 151 yards and a touchdown, marking his third 100-yard game this season. He has 489 receiving yards this season, becoming the first Texan to exceed 450 yards in the first four games.
“I feel like there’s always room for improvement on your game,” he said. “My mindset, man, don’t get too comfortable. Continue to build, continue to take care of my body, continue to be available for the team and … all the pieces will fall into place.”
Trevor Lawrence passed for 169 yards and two touchdowns, but his streak of games without a win extended to nine. The Jaguars fell to 0-4 for the first time since they started the 2021 season with five losses in a row.
Coach Doug Pederson seemed surprised when asked if he was worried about his job after such a rough start. “My status? I mean, no,” he said. “That’s kind of a strange question, but OK.”
After being beaten badly by the Bills on Monday, the Jaguars had many chances in this game. They led for much of the second half after Christian Kirk caught a touchdown pass with about six minutes left in the third quarter.
They could have increased their lead when Tank Bigsby had a 58-yard run that took them to the Houston 4-yard line. Two more runs by Bigsby moved them to the 2, but Lawrence threw an incomplete pass.
Jacksonville decided to go for it, but Lawrence was stopped for no gain on the first play of the fourth quarter.
“We had a lot of opportunities, run game and throwing the ball down the field,” Lawrence said. “Didn’t capitalize on all of them unfortunately. That’s why we’re here now and didn’t win the game in my opinion is because we didn’t take advantage of some of those opportunities.”
Ogunbowale caught a short pass and avoided three defenders for a 31-yard gain on third-and-18 on Houston’s next drive.
But the Texans couldn’t do anything after that. They had a run for no gain, a holding penalty on left tackle Laremy Tunsil, and an incomplete pass before Stroud was sacked, forcing a punt.
Derek Stingley knocked down Lawrence’s pass to force a punt with about six minutes remaining. The Texans struggled on their next drive, which ended with a holding penalty on Tunsil followed by two incomplete passes.
Kirk put the Jaguars ahead 20-17 with an 8-yard touchdown catch with about six minutes left in the third quarter. Brian Thomas helped that drive with a 32-yard reception and a 13-yard run.
The Texans forced a punt on Jacksonville’s opening drive, but Steven Sims fumbled it, and Daniel Thomas recovered at the 2-yard line. Lawrence connected with Brian Thomas Jr. on the next play, giving the Jaguars an early lead.
Houston tied the game when Stefon Diggs scored his first career rushing touchdown on a 6-yard run with about 7½ minutes left in the first quarter.
The Jaguars went up 10-7 after a field goal before Collins caught a 3-yard touchdown pass, putting Houston ahead 14-10.
Jacksonville added a 52-yard field goal with about four minutes left in the second quarter, cutting the lead to 14-13.
The Texans led 17-13 at halftime after a 30-yard field goal by Ka’imi Fairbairn with 3 seconds left in the second quarter.
